CROWN TROPHY Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a CROWN TROPHY franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
CROWN TROPHY discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Franchisor explicitly declines to disclose financial performance representations. No past or projected income data provided.
What a CROWN TROPHY franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 7% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $168,150 – $199,200 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty escalates Year 1-6 ($3,750-$20,000 minimum). Ad fund 2-3% optional. Website $1,700/yr.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
CROWN TROPHY system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 129 |
| Ceased operations | 4 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 1 |
| Transferred to new owners | 4 |
| Closure rate | 3.1% of outlets |
5-outlet net decline 2024; 4 ceased operations; concerning attrition pattern.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is CROWN TROPHY worth it? — how it compares to 436 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 7% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $168,150 | about average (median $138,750) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 3.1% of outlets | worse than 63% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every other franchises franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a CROWN TROPHY
The franchisor's framing: Franchisor explicitly declines to disclose financial performance representations. No past … We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
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CROWN TROPHY franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a CROWN TROPHY franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $168,150–$199,200, including a $35,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do CROWN TROPHY franchise owners make?
- CROWN TROPHY discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the CROWN TROPHY franchise fees?
- CROWN TROPHY's FDD discloses a $35,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 7% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty escalates Year 1-6 ($3,750-$20,000 minimum). Ad fund 2-3% optional. Website $1,700/yr.
- What is the CROWN TROPHY franchise profit margin?
- CROWN TROPHY discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the CROWN TROPHY franchise failure rate?
- 5-outlet net decline 2024; 4 ceased operations; concerning attrition pattern.
- How many CROWN TROPHY locations are there?
- CROWN TROPHY's FDD reports 129 total outlets, with 4 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 4 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does CROWN TROPHY have complaints or lawsuits?
- CROWN TROPHY discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a CROWN TROPHY franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. CROWN TROPHY scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 7% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare CROWN TROPHY to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: MN CARDS 33884-202504-04 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with CROWN TROPHY or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.